Tri-Cities Meetings: Unless noted otherwise, meetings are held in Room 117 in the SWL building at CBC. The program starts at 7:00 PM. At 6:30 PM, we have an informal plant identification and get together. Bring a mystery plant (non-ornamental) if you like and we will attempt to identify it for you.

Field Trips: Bring water, appropriate layers of clothing, hat, sunscreen, walking sticks, guidebooks, camera, and a snack/lunch for all day trips. If you opt to carpool, riders should contribute money for gas. Please notify the contact person of your intention to participate. These trips may fill up fast . Please pre- register. Some of our away trips have limited parking. Unless noted otherwise, Blue Mountain trips begin at Harper Joy parking lot on Whitman campus in Walla Walla for carpooling. Arrangements may also be made to meet you on the way.

Monthly Meeting: Vernal Pools

Shallow ephemeral wetlands, or vernal pools, occur in very small to rarely large depressions throughout the exposed, volcanic scablands on the Columbia Plateau, where this ecological system is considered to be “Imperiled”. On the Hanford Site, vernal pools were first documented in the mid-1990’s by The Nature Conservancy, but have not been observed or studied since then. Last year (2016-2017) was an especially wet winter (like a few years in the mid-1990’s), and over 25 pools were identified on site. The size, timeline, vegetation, and aquatic life in the vernal pools on Umtanum Ridge, Gable Butte, and Gable Mountain were monitored from late winter to late summer. Come hear about the difference these pools make to the ecology of our very hot and dry region.